Use of stored-value instruments has increased dramatically in recent years. Consumers purchase or otherwise obtain stored-value instruments, often in the form of gift cards, and use a monetary value associated with these instruments to purchase goods or services at associated merchants or as accepted by credit card network participants, such as affiliates of credit card accounts, such as VISA™, MASTER CARD™, DISCOVER™ or AMERICAN EXPRESS™ systems or programs or retail store credit cards or programs offered or associated with retail operators, such as MACYS™, SAKS FIFTH AVENUE, J.C. PENNEY'S™ or the like.
Prior art gift cards provide a restricted monetary equivalent or scrip that is issued by retailers or banks to be used as an alternative to a non-monetary gift. Highly popular, gift cards ranked in year 2006 as the second-most given gift by consumers in the United States and the most-wanted gift by women, and the third-most wanted by males. Gift cards have become increasingly popular partially because their use relieves the benefactor of the gift card of the responsibility of selecting a specific gift. In addition, the gift card process enables a recipient, or beneficiary, of the gift card to expend and associated monetary value at his or her discretion within the restrictions set by the issuing agency.
Gift cards are often purchased and given as gifts by a benefactor who wishes to create or strengthen a personal, social or business relationship with a beneficiary-recipient of the gift card or a gifted monetary value account. Yet the prior art fails to optimally enable or even encourage communication between a benefactor who buys or originates a gift card or gifted monetary account and a beneficiary who receives the gift card or control over a gifted monetary value account.